Throughout his life as a poet in both British India and Pakistan, Khan was known by the titles Lewanay Pālsapay (لېونی فلسفي, 'Mad Philosopher') and Da īlam Samander (د علم سمندر, 'Ocean of Knowledge').

[citation needed] Khan was born in Hashtnagar, in the Frontier Tribal Areas of British India—roughly located in the modern-day village of Utmanzai in Charsadda District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Khan's wife, Roshan, was from a Parsi family and was the daughter of Nawab Rustam Jang, a prince of Hyderabad.

Due to his activism, Khan was arrested by the Government of Pakistan in 1948—although he had given up politics by then—and remained imprisoned in various jails all over the country till 1954.

As for Ghani Khan, he was initially influenced by his father's political struggles and thus worked for the independence of the Pashtuns ruled by British India.

The singular distinction of his poetry – aside from his obvious poetic genius – is a profound blend of knowledge about his native and foreign cultures, and the psychological, sensual, and religious aspects of life.

[4][5] A translation (Pashto to English) of selected 141 poems of Ghani Khan, called The Pilgrim of Beauty, has been authored by Imtiaz Ahmad Sahibzada, a friend and admirer of the poet.

The site is a historical mound very near his home, Dar- ul-Aman, and within the confines of his ancestral village, Utmanzai, on the main highway from Razzar to Takht-i-Bhai.